Film/Video

Best known in the US as one of the great Italian postwar filmmakers, Pier Paolo Pasolini was also an influential, outspoken, and openly gay poet, novelist, critic, journalist, playwright, and painter. He held seemingly conflicting philosophies as both a Marxist and a Catholic, and was a staunch leftist who once spoke out against left-wing student protests in favor of the working-class police. His filmography represents perhaps the most subversive body of work ever put to film, still provoking outrage and charges of blasphemy in some quarters. However controversial, the themes he explores achieve a measure of timelessness and universality as many of his films are set in the distant past. Most importantly, his films often portray the lives of those existing on the fringes of society, in roles often played by nonprofessional actors. The Wex is thrilled to present this nearly complete retrospective with many titles screening in newly restored 35mm prints.

Tue, Feb 25, 2014 7 PM

In the documentary Love Meetings, Pasolini interviews subjects from across social strata about sex, touching on sex education, homosexuality, and prostitution and calling attention to the prevalent ignorance and conservatism about the topic. (90 mins., 35mm) Beginning at 8:40 PM, Notes for an African Oresteia follows Pasolini as he location scouts in Africa for a never-made adaptation of the Greek tragedies. Back at the University of Rome, a group of African students point out his misunderstanding of the African continent’s contemporary complexity. (73 mins., 35mm)